How to create a travel-themed nursery

Last updated on January 12, 2024

My passions are opposite. On one hand I love to travel and be free, and on the other I love homemaking and creating a place to call my own. Recently, I brought the two together for the decoration of our travel-themed nursery. Not only does it have a travel theme, but it also draws on influences from the places we’ve been, most notably Scandinavia where I fell in love with the country’s clean and playful design.

Since moving to Bristol, after almost four years of being nomadic, it’s been a joy to put down roots. I know there’s more to life than “stuff” but I love the creativity of creating space and this nursery has been so much fun to put together. The little one’s arrival is imminent with just 10 days to go until our due date. He’ll stay in our room for the first six months or so, but then this room will be his own. I hope he grows to love it as much as we do.

If you like the style of our travel nursery, you might also enjoy my post on the best Scandinavian-style baby brands.

How to create a travel themed nursery

And here it is: our travel-themed nursery with Scandinavian style….

The feature that brings the room together is this wall map from Murals Wallpaper. They have lots of different designs and we spent ages trying to pick one, finally settling on Safari Kids. I couldn’t be happier with our choice. I love the colours and the illustrations, and the turquoise-green background has a lovely, calming effect. The wallpaper is made to measure to fit the wall. It costs £36 per square metre, and would also make an excellent choice for a map themed nursery.

The rocking fox and baby gym are from Kids Concept, a Swedish brand that creates beautifully designed toys for children. The fox is one of my favourite things in the room, adding a playful touch of character.

Travel-themed nursery with Scandinavian style

The rest of the room has a white base with lots of colourful highlights. We didn’t have the budget to replace the carpet so decided to get a huge rug instead. It’s wonderfully soft and fluffy and a pleasure to sink your toes into. I got it from Wayfair for £295. And the goose feather lampshade adds an extra bit of cosiness. It’s from Dowsing and Reynolds who are in my opinion the kings of lighting design. 

I wanted to create a peaceful little space in the room where I can nurse and sit with the baby. I spent an evening in Ikea trying out all the chairs and finally settled on the Strandmon in dark grey. I find it really comfortable, especially when used with the knitted pouffe as a footstool. The table is also from Ikea and will double as toy storage in the future. Finally, the peacock mobile is from Cam Cam Copenhagen, and is one of a few things we have from this beautiful Danish brand. I’m a huge fan of Cam Cam’s soft, whimsical design and colour palette. Our curtains were kindly made by Steve’s Mum. I had intended to do them myself but got overwhelmed with work and preparations. She’s also done a much better job than I would have! The fabric is Croft Herringbone in Marshmallow from John Lewis.

The adorable cushions on the chair are from Fabelab (the bear) and OYOY (the rain drop). OYOY is a Danish brand that sells beautifully designed homeware for both kids and adults.

Another main feature of the room is the SnuzKot, which Steve and I coveted from the moment we saw it. The Scandinavian design epitomises the vision we had for the room and it’s also a cot that will last. Initially you can take one side off for the transition to toddler, and afterwards it can be converted and extended into a bed that will last until our child is about 10 years old. We’ve also used Snuz bedding, which comes in a variety of colours and styles, and the mattress protector comes from Little Green Sheep, which specialises in organic, natural baby products. We got our SnuzKot and mattress from the Natural Baby Shower.

When our baby first moves into the SnuzKot from their crib, we intend to use the Sleepyhead to ease the transition. So many parents have recommended this to us. We’ll definitely be using it for nap time from when the baby is born, perhaps even having naps in this room, so he starts to get used to it early on.

Oh the places you’ll go is one of our favourite children’s books and is also perfectly fitting for a travel-themed nursery. Steve designed the sticker and custom ordered it from a vinyl sticker company. If you want one that’s already designed, there are a few available on Etsy. The dinosaur bunting is also from Etsy.

I especially love this corner of the nursery because it’s an example of the love that Steve put into creating parts the nursery. He made these mountain shelves, which were a true labour of love. And he also adapted the Ikea Malm drawers by adding a wooden top and building some shelves down the side. It makes the whole thing look much more together and bespoke. We’ll use this as a changing area and have included a Cam Cam Copenhagen changing cushion and a couple of mobiles, one from Cam Cam and another we picked up when in Florence on our babymoon. Once he’s out of nappies, this will be a cute little corner with lots of storage for toys and what not. I’m particularly in love with the sloth from Albetta!

Sloth and lion rattle by Albetta | Stones by Two Palms |Bemo | Rattle by Poketo

We’ve also used Ikea’s drawer separators to organise all the baby’s bits and bobs. The top drawer is dedicated to nappy changing and will give easy access to all the things we need.

This corner is another favourite spot (okay, perhaps all of it is a favourite!). Like the changing corner, Steve adapted the Ikea Malm furniture and also made the shelf and clothing rail. I couldn’t resist the opportunity to have some of the baby’s cute clothes on show. In this photo, you can see sleep suits from some of my favourite brands: Mori, Aden + Anais and Finn + Emma. I also included them in my baby shower gift guide and they’ll definitely be included in a future post about stylish baby brands. 

Clothes: Be Kind Always t-shirt by Mori | Stripy vest by Mori | Viking sleepsuit by Finn + Emma | Explorer suit by Stella McCartney | Elephant sleepsuit by Finn + Emma |  Star sleepsuit  and diamond suit by Aden + Anais | Steve bought the final stripy sleepsuit from Giggle in New York

Shelf: Toys include elephant by Jelly Cat and a cute bunny comforter by Willing and Barkis. The rest were gifts | Cloud lamp from A Little Lovely Company on Scandiborn | Wooden blocks by Myla & Oscar on Not on the High Street | Bead frame by Kids Concept.

I love that the clothing rail doubles as a shelf to showcase some colourful bits and bobs, and add a bit of greenery with a plant. 

Abacus from IKEA | Playball by OYOY | Dino light from Little Lovely Company at Scandiborn |Lightbox from Amazon | Sophie the giraffe from Amazon.

Here you can see better the hack we did on the Ikea Malm drawers, making them fit snugly into the wall recess and adding some shelves down the side.

On the shelves: Grey blanket by Cam Cam Copenhagen | Cloud-print sleeping bag by Ergopouch | Blue Coccoi sleeping bag by Merino Kids at Natural Baby Shower |Geometric print sleeping bag by Snüz | Monster sleeping bag was a gift.

Finally the gallery wall, featuring some pretty wall hangings and pictures and the beginnings of our baby’s book collection. We got some of the pictures and wall hangings from Etsy, and the others from a place called The Little Shop, which sell works by local artists in Bristol. Steve was keen to add a cosmic element to the room, hence the solar system mobile and planet embroidery.

Be Kind print from Etsy | Solar system mobile from Etsy | Planet embroidery hanging from Etsy | Other prints from The Little Shop |

Books: Little People, Big Dreams, Frida Kahlo | Professor Astro Cat’s Frontiers of Space | Sloth Slept On

We’ve used these Ikea magazine shelves throughout our house as I love the way they showcase books’ design. For years, Steve and I have been looking forward to the day we have a reason to buy children’s books, so we’ve already stocked up on quite a few. Most are too old for the baby just yet, but he’ll have something to look forward to and be intrigues by. I’m a particular fan of the Little People, Big Dreams series. I actually bought the Frida Kahlo one for myself a few years ago!|

Books: Oh the places you’ll go | Peep inside space | The Little Prince |Little People, Big Dreams, Marie Curie | Goodnight Spaceman

Books: Animal Parade puzzle book | Sock Monkey, Boogie Woogie | Farm | Here we are | Where the Wild Things Are | Milo’s Black and White World

ABC | My first words | The Very Hungry Caterpillar |Pattern-tastic Treasure Hunt

So there it is, our travel-themed scandinavian-style nursery. Let me know what you think!

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A note: I was gifted some of these products but not paid to write about them. All opinions are, as always, my own. You can read my policy on gifts and sponsorship here.

And don’t miss our guide to the best Scandinavian-style baby brands.